Guardians Of Citera
by Crystallion12
Summary: It's been eight years since Ash disappeared; his reasons unknown, events across the Pokemon world have risen, and even the Pokemon Masters can't stand against the evil armies of a mysterious man. Now, the only hope of the world rests on one's shoulders- Ash. But the boy they once knew, is now long gone, and his intentions... Are far greater than simply catching them all. [Rated T]
1. Prologue- We Are One (Spoon Master)

**The Guardians of Citera**

 **A Pokémon Fanfiction**

 **RATING** : T (Story contains of the following; violence, blood and gore, language, and mature themes. Viewer Discrimination advised.)

 **GENRE** : Adventure/Friendship

 **SUMMARY** : It's been eight years since Ash disappeared; his reasons unknown, events across the Pokémon world have risen, and even the Pokémon Masters can't stand against the evil armies of a mysterious man. Now, the only hope of the rests on one's shoulders- Ash. But the boy they once knew, is now long gone, and his intentions... Are far greater than simply catching them all.

 **DISCLAIMER:**

 **I do not own Pokémon. Rights go to their respective owners. I only own my OCs.**

 **=O-oOo-=O=-oOo-O=**

 **Prologue: We Are One, With The Spoon Master**

Ash Ketchum had disappeared a little over eight years ago, without a word to his travelling peers other than a letter left for them, also for his old friends, mother and Professor Oak. It had happened so suddenly...

He had been known for his energetic, enthusiastic and silly attitude outside of Pokémon Battles and hard situations- heck, one of Iris' common lines were about Ash being such a 'little kid'.

But that had been eight years ago. He wasn't a little boy any more. And neither was his companion; although, his mount was no human.

By the young man's side, posed majestically, was a massive Charizard, the same one Ash had raised from its Charmander form. The fire dragon was at least eight times larger than a normal Charizard, and was rather terrifying. His light blue eyes seemed to radiate an icy glow, and they swept over the mountains like a flood. His now visible armour of jewel-hard orange scales had taken a darker shade of red around his feet and tips, and his wings were massive, also unlike a regular Charizard. His claws were sharper than swords, his teeth like a hundred daggers.

Its forelegs had become slightly larger in comparison to his hind legs, due to the fact he had to be able to support a significant extra amount of weight. This also applied to his wings- His figure had become more aerodynamic, making him sleeker to help his manoeuvrability on the ground, more in the air. All across his body, he packed extreme lithe and lean muscle, which rippled under his shiny, sparkling coat of jewel scales. His tail burned with a lethal intensity, and occasionally flicked back and forth.

On his back, between his shoulder blades, a complex black saddle was perched. The strap around his collar-bone was a black translucent crystal-like metal, which in the centre had a colourful sphere located in a 'thin' clear crystal case. This, was his Mega Stone. It allowed the dragon to become even more powerful, in the form of the black and blue dragon known as Mega Charizard X.

His rider and trainer, Ash, stood beside him, wrapped in a black cloak with orange underneath. His face was concealed by a shadow from his hood, and then doubled by a mask. The young man placed a hand over the dragon's shoulder, before he grunted and swiftly leaped onto the dragon's back.

Charizard growled, before rising to his hind legs, and spreading his huge black-blue wings, as he let out a fierce roar and leaped into the air, flapping his wings strongly to keep them aloft.

The Guardians, as they were rumoured to be named, rode winged Pokémon as their daily and all-time mode of transport- need to get to Johto? Use a Hydreigon! Going to a town across the region? Use a Braviary!

Going to be taught the ways of the Guardians in the mystical land of Citera? Well, you may need a really devoted, loyal and powerful Charizard or Salamence for that... One of those, or a legendary Pokémon could do.

To say in the least, Ash and Charizard were no normal pair of Guardians.

=O-oOo-=O=-oOo-O=

Pokémon and Trainer flew over the mountains, while every now and then performing daring, dangerous and extremely skilled tricks with effortless ease, making even the most talented Staraptor look like a Psyduck trying to perform a corkscrew dive and then loop-de-loop and come immediately back round for an upwards spiral. Which, also happened to be the usual routine for the dynamic duo.

"What do you think, buddy?" Ash leaned back in the saddle, eyeing the clouds thoughtfully. "Will we finally get to leave today?"

The fire lizard snorted incredulously, as if it ever changed. Ash grunted.

 _'Well, you could have been more enthusiastic, Charizard.'_ Ash thought, reaching out to communicate mentally with his mount.

 _'Yeah, I know... But seriously, at this rate, we may as well be sitting ducks under a gloomy mountain for the rest of our lives.'_ He responded, lazily performing an upward spiral for completely no reason but to stretch his wings.

Ash was lost in thought, thinking about his friends and family. His mother, he hadn't seen or spoken to at all for eight years... It killed him inside.

The worst pain of all was the grief of not waking up to see his furry yellow friend, though. Pikachu... Oh gods- he hadn't seen his best friend for all those years... The first thing Ash intended to do when he was released, was find Pikachu, and hug him until he could hug no more. Then, he could save the world.

' _Perhaps they'll let us go later in the year- apparently the upcoming spring is going to be nice weather for the most part_. _At least in Kalos and Hoenn... Sinnoh? Not so much_. ' Ash chuckled briefly, before playfully slapping his dragon's neck.

' _What's weather got to do with saving the entire world and the both the human and Pokémon races?_ ' Ash asked, and the dragon released a small jet of flame with a snort.

' _Oh, it totally helps!'_

Ash clung on tighter with his knees, and with a smirk, folded his arms across his rather broad chest. ' _Care to explain, bud_?'

' _Well, if it was raining... It would be near impossible to track our enemies, or smell an ambush_!'

Charizard tried desperately, skimming over and between the peaks of the mountain-tops.

' _That's what our life sensor-sight, your thermal and night vision, and our magic is for!_ '

' _Oh, whatever. You could still get sunburnt by the desert sun..._ '

Ash groaned.

' _The desert never changes by that much, sometimes it's just a bit hotter than normal! But you do make a point there... Still, that's why we use a spell to protect us from the brunt of danger_.'

Making another dip, Charizard chortled. ' _When did you become a living, breathing book, Ash?_ ' The dragon flew up to the clouds, dipping in and out while continuing their remark game. _'I didn't know you were a nerd.'_

Ash snarled indignantly, putting his hands on his hips as they fell into a steady, calm glide over the puffy white sheet of clouds. ' _I am NOT a nerd, and I'm definitely NOT A BOOK_.'

Charizard merely laughed.

=O-oOo-=O=-oOo-O=

They glided down, approaching the mountain, blending in with the wide mountain ranges that hid it from plain sight.

As Charizard's wings tilted down, taking them closer to the large cave in the side of the rocky mountain-side. There was no doubt, that this was the most unlikely and strange of places to hide a massive city and civilisation. For one, it was incredibly hard to find, what with the mountain, well, being a mountain that looked almost exactly the same as every other. Another factor that made entry challenging was the factor that during the day and late hours of the nigh, high and furious winds buffeted the secret location.

Finally, it was located in a region unknown to anyone, BUT the Guardians, long forgotten and deep beyond legends, only ever heard through rumours or myths in the modern day.

Also happening to be one of the largest, it was filled with all kinds of Pokémon, from each and every place. A lot of Pokémon had originated in Sciarston, and had migrated to populate the other places of the Pokémon world, filling it to its rim with the magical beasts.

Many of the species of Pokémon could be found here, and no-where else. Many of the 'legendary' and 'mythical' Pokémon were simply rare, or even common here. The most powerful and dangerous of the creatures belonged in Sciarston, where they couldn't lash out and destroy anything or kill an innocent soul. Some of them, in fact, were locked away so they literally were _unable_ to harm someone.

The large fire lizard swooped low, performing a sharp, tight barrel roll as he zoomed out of sight, blazing down the dark tunnel. Mid-way, torches lined the way, as by that stage anyone entering would realise it wasn't just some dumb crevice in a wall.

Ash sighed, leaning back and letting his partner take the steering. He stared up at the stone wall overhead, passing by quickly.

' _Little One?_ ' Charizard turned to his rider. ' _We're home._ '

He nodded, sitting upright as the large doors came into sight, and his mount burst into the Entrance Chamber. To the side of the large cavern, a large, glistening and gleaming lake stood, large stalagmites scattered here and there. Torches completely lit the room. Two Sceptiles stood by the door, equipped in their elegant, light, shiny silver and emerald armour. They nodded at Ash and Charizard, pressing one of their feet each down on a raised stone next to them, causing the doors to automatically open.

Nodding in gratitude and acknowledgement, the dragon and man flew inside, exiting out to the magnificent sight that was Citera.

Pretty much, the entire mountain was hollowed out, the grand city built inside. Bridges and glass tunnels connected towers, buildings, and multiple floors of the structure. Outer rings of buildings and houses were pressed against the mountain walls. Up high, to give a more real-life experience, lights designed to mimic night, day and other times were installed, getting brighter during the day and dimmer as night fell. If you didn't yet understand that mechanism, there were clocks all over the city, and well, everyone should be aware of it on their watches.

Everywhere, the city was crawling with residents. Pokémon of all types, shapes, sizes, and ages were walking to and back, most of them with their owners, riders or trainers.

Ash smiled; he loved his home, even if it _was_ completely cut off from the outside world, other than a few selected entrances, the key one being the mountain entrance he and Charizard had come through a few minutes ago.

' _So_ ,' Ash murmured, patting the scaly neck in front of him, ' _Where to, Bud?_ '

The fire and flying type Pokémon roared, doing a loop before angling his wings, gliding over the Plaza and around the Bathhouse. He spiralled upwards, clearly just for the fun of it, and headed for the Food Hall.

Ash nodded in approval, giving his companion a grin. ' _Good choice. Let's go, pal. TO LUNCH!_ '

=O-oOo-=O=-oOo-O=

"NO, IT'S GRASS AND PHYSIC!" Terak slammed a fist on the table, shrieking. His long, smooth and shiny dark brown hair that reached down his shoulders flicked, hitting Ash's head, but the younger man just sighed.

He sat up, grabbing his cup of fruit punch before it could be knocked over, _again_. This was his second one, courtesy of Terak. "Guys, I'm pretty sure Maractus is grass type, and _just_ grass."

"S'not possible, Ashy boy." Luna said, tying her also long hair back, the black locks shiny, as always.

That had to be a trend, or something, here. Although honestly? Ash was no better. Whatever they put in their shampoos and lotions did wonders, apparently.

She punched his shoulder, albeit not as hard as she could. That was reserved for training and sparring. "Hey!" She snapped, feeling insulted as she grinned. "I said something to you! Have some courtesy, you. Don't you know how to be a true gentleman?"

"Of course I do," Ash laughed. "I just didn't want to respond, Luna."

She grumbled, sitting back down, across from Terak, who was seated at his right. Across from the 19-year old, was Alex, the oldest of the group at twenty-one years. Luna had recently turned twenty, Ash was eighteen (making him the youngest) and Terak was a year older, making him nineteen with their other female member, Nina, who was sat to the left of Alex. The last seat beside Ash was empty- or, well, not sat in by a human- as a Furret had decided to hop up and sit there, while trying, and ultimately failing, to nick some food. He only got a hand pushing him back.

"Why even would a cactus Pokémon be physic type?" Alex asked suddenly, pushing a strand of his short, spiky blonde hair behind an ear as he took a sip of his punch. "I mean, I guess I can understand, considering Exeggutor... For some… Odd… Reason, exists, but why does a living, breathing _cactus_ need to bend spoons?"

"Spoons?" Nina asked, grinning widely and snickering. "That's it, Alex has officially lost it, folks."

They laughed good-naturedly, which only increased in volume when said blonde folded his muscular arms, grumbling obscenities under his breath.

Ash leaned on Terak, suddenly feeling tired after everything that had happened in the last week.

"Eh, don't worry, we've all had our little 'spoon quotes'... Actually, wait, no, we haven't." And cue more grumbling and laughter, especially when Alex stormed out his chair to tackle the dark-haired daredevil to the ground, yelping and shouting the whole time. Pretty much everyone in the Hall turned, laughing at the sight.

Writhing, Ash eventually wriggled his way out. He quickly grabbed a utensil from the cutlery tray, which was at the side, holding it out in his defence. He paused, jaw dropping as he realised what it was.

A spoon.

Terak and Luna had fallen out their seats, wheezing for breath between cackling, and Nina was holding her abdomen as tears streamed from her eyes.

Even Charizard, who had no idea what was going on, since he had just walked in, was laughing on the floor.

"Stand back!" Ash shouted, trying to withhold his bursts of laughter. Alex was laughing too, chuckling uncontrollably, but he managed to get words out, standing on side and gesturing to the younger man with his hand to the laughing hall.

"You're _threatening_ me with a _spoon_?"

Ash snorted, almost certain he was about to give in and go into an uncontrollable case of the incurable giggles. "Ye-yes! An- d it wi-will save me! I am threatening you with a SPOON! THE ALMIGHTY SPOON OF SPOONS!"

"Wow. Everyone! BOW BEFORE YOUR ULTIMATE _SPOON_ MASTER!"

And with that statement, Ash finally fell over.

He laughed until he was gasping for breath, sweating and wheezing, and had to be carried to the Infirmary by Charizard to make sure he hadn't damaged his lungs, which thankfully ended up with just a cracked voice, some bedrest, and a lecture as to why you don't try and become a spoon master... But what could they say? They were crazy.

Well, In the end, _everyone_ had their spoon moments, and Ash's was no different. In fact, it had to be the best they'd ever seen.

 **=O-oOo-=O=-oOo-O=**

 **A/N:**

 **Well, it's short and crappy... But it's the Prologue, so, meh. Some light and fluffy stuff to introduce our setting, characters, and blah blah blah.**

 **Hope you enjoyed!**

 **-Crystallion12**


	2. Chapter 1- Morning Patrol

**The Guardians of Citera**

 **A Pokémon Fanfiction**

 **RATING** : T (Story contains of the following; violence, blood and gore, language, and mature themes. Viewer Discrimination advised.)

 **GENRE** : Adventure/Friendship

 **SUMMARY** : It's been eight years since Ash disappeared; his reasons unknown, events across the Pokémon world have risen, and even the Pokémon Masters can't stand against the evil armies of a mysterious man. Now, the only hope of the rests on one's shoulders- Ash. But the boy they once knew, is now long gone, and his intentions... Are far greater than simply catching them all.

 **DISCLAIMER:**

 **I do not own Pokémon. Rights go to their respective owners. I only own my OCs.**

 **=O-oOo-=O=-oOo-O=**

 **Chapter 1: Morning Patrol**

Ash woke to the sound of his alarm going off, as usual, at five o'clock sharp in the morning. He groaned, turning over in his bed, pulling the sheets with him and curling up.

' _Come on, Ash. We got patrol, you know that just as much as my scaly ass does._ '

He grumbled, getting annoyed by the consistent beeping of his alarm. He groaned, face still buried in the pillow, as he reached up, slamming his hand down on the silver device located on his night-stand. Charizard snorted in amusement, watching the ex-trainer (they didn't consider themselves 'trainers' any more) from his place curled up on his soft bed against the wall. At his feet, his female Absol, Angel, lay, nuzzling his thigh while purring a bit.

Ash reached up, gently rubbing Angel's black snout. "Hey... Morning, girl... Care to get my armour out?"

She grumbled a little, reluctantly standing up and jumping off the bed, padding over to his wardrobe as requested. Ash yawned, stretching and sitting up.

Getting out of his comfy bed, he sighed, and quickly showered, brushed his teeth, and got dressed in clothes with his armour on top, wrapping his cloak around and grabbing his sword. Angel purred, rubbing against his leg delicately, and he smiled, watching each of his Pokémon call to him; Charizard, his bonded partner- Angel, his Absol, as pre-mentioned- his loyal, legendary, majestic, snow white Reshiram, Chaos- his Luxray, whom reminded him a lot of Pikachu- his male Nidoking, Valiant, and lastly, his now fully grown Lapras, from when he had travelled with through the Orange Islands of Kanto.

He sighed, walking over to and stroking his Lapras' large head from where she was laid in her fountain-like bed, with shallow water up to his knees in depth.

She crooned gently, nuzzling his armoured chest. ' _Stay safe, Ash._ ' Lapras whispered softly, and he nodded, murmuring his assurance.

Luxray spoke up, ruffling his black, star-shaped mane. ' _And don't get killed, we still need you_.' He casually scratched behind his ear, smiling at him. Ash smirked back.

' _Don't you fret, Lapras,_ ' Charizard rumbled, smirking a toothy grin. ' _He's got me around to babysit him._ '

Ash groaned, but grinned regardless. "C'mon, gang, I'm not that danger-prone... And yes, I do recall every single time that I..." He looked at his companions, each with raised eye-brows and pointed looks directed his direction, and corrected himself. "Okay, fine, you guys win. I'm a living, breathing, trouble magnet-"

' _-And, we are, rather unfortunately, more than aware._ ' Charizard muttered.

Sighing and shaking his head, the young man patted the dragon's flank, and climbed into the saddle, strapping his legs into the securing loops.

He pulled on his black helmet, covering the top of his skull and the whole of his face, apart from his eyes. Clipping himself onto the safety ring near the saddle horn, he patted the thick neck in front of him, turning to look at his other Pokémon. Bidding them goodbye, he walked his mount outside, closed the door, and headed towards the day ahead of him.

=O-oOo-=O=-oOo-O=

"Ready to go?" Luna asked, sat upon the back of her faithful Noivern. While not her 'bonded' partner Pokémon, the large (and much bigger than usual), flying, bat-like dragon and her were extremely talented in the air and very close.

Ash nodded, his Charizard landing a good few feet away. The others were already there, waiting for his command to go.

Sat on the back of his male, huge, bonded Braviary, was Alex, calm and collected in expression and posture, as always.

Nina was riding her usual mount, her large and faithful Pidgeot named Feather.

And, as always, Terak was on his own bonded partner, his shiny Charizard named Shadow, with his huge red wings and glittering black scales.

Sighing, Ash steered Charizard forward to stand in front of the group, as they filed into a V- formation; Ash & Charizard took the lead, with Luna & Noivern beside Nina & Feather in the middle, and tagging along at the back taking the rear were Alex & Braviary with Terak and Shadow.

They took flight, climbing high into the air and soaring over the city, before doing a simple _Circling_ (which had the rear pair flying low under the middle, with the leaders circling at the top, the bottom doing one loop, middle doing two, and top doing three) before they headed in single-file for the now open exit they usually entered through. Today, there was a Persian and Liepard guarding the entrance, both equipped in silver armour. The five Guardians and their mounts nodded at the duo in regards and acknowledgement as they swooped by, flying through the tunnel to the open, vast mountain range.

The winds were as strong and daunting as usual in the chilly mornings, buffeting the Guardians from all directions as they fanned out into their tight V-formation again.

Ash pushed Charizard in lightly with a mental nudge, getting them moving.

' _So,_ ' Shadow suddenly said as they glided past one mountain, his large head turning to their 'flight-mates'- Alex and Braviary- and eyeing them. ' _What are you two doing tonight?_ '

Alex sighed. "Not much, Shadow. And you two?"

"Ugh." Nina turned back to them, Noivern glancing back slightly. "Can we just focus on patrol?"

' _That WOULD be much preferred_.' Noivern rumbled, his large, disc-shaped ears twitching back and forth. ' _And I doubt that we'll need to pass time with nonsensical banter, judging by these winds. It feels to be a tough morning for a patrol_.'

Charizard dipped his large, orange head. ' _Couldn't be said better on my own tongue, Noivern_.'

"You guys don't use your tongues." Alex snorted, bemused, shutting up quickly as Charizard sent a large blast of fire over his head.

As Noivern had predicted, the Patrol wasn't any fun, with brutal and unrelenting winds that almost tore them off course, more than enough times, messing and toying with the five duos. The temperature was freezing beyond comfort, as they soared over and between the mountains, low down over the long Vyruŗrk river, and past the valley, before they finally came home, diving into the tunnel with frost on the Pokémons' wings and their riders shivering, ripping off their frozen helmets as soon as they entered the warmth of the cave.

"That... Was nasty." Luna groaned, falling forward into the creamy-silver spikes of fur at the back of Noivern's neck.

The large creature twisted his long neck around, nuzzling her with a gentle croon, closing his eyes as the young lady stroked his snout.

Ash sighed, eyeing each of them as they looked his way.

"Well, I can't argue there. I say we all go to our rooms and lock ourselves in until dinner..."

Charizard growled, his head lifting up as a Brekar (a flying-physic, dark green bird-like Pokémon native to Sciarston) swooped in, landing on the lizard's neck and speaking in his chirpy, high-pitched voice.

' _The Guild requests you, Guardian Ash! Trouble in the North! Articuno! Blizzards!_ '

"Go figure..." Ash muttered darkly, pressing Charizard on with a light nudge to the flank, which got him moving. Behind them, their team followed, still shivering and almost wanting to run off and hide in their rooms until the crisis was solved.

=O-oOo-=O=-oOo-O=

Ash strode into the Meeting Room, where nine Guardians stood around the huge table, their Pokémon either behind them, or in their Pokéballs, equipped onto their belts. Ash stepped inside, Charizard walking behind him slowly, head proudly lifted and posture firm, majestic, showing an example to all around him. His partner was likewise, shoulders squared as he walked up to it, immediately acknowledged.

"So, what's all this about issues in the North?" He asked, standing beside a tall woman in her mid-forties, her red cape and hair standing out against her black hair and attire. Close beside her, was her partner Blaze, (a powerful and rather stubborn Moltres) watching everything around him warily.

She spoke up, her voice firm and confident with the shining abilities of a natural-born leader. Khlostra had been in the Guild for as long as Ash could remember, ever since he joined six years ago.

"Natural systems are getting out of hand; the blizzards have stopped, and that translates into trouble. Mamoswine herds are getting hunted and killed too frequently, moving into normally not accessible areas, and now the seven packs of Wolvareins are moving in to hunt them, like the fat, greedy dogs they are- some thing's wrong-"

'- _And that's probably to do with the flock of Articuno that live there, controlling the blizzards and keeping things in order_.' Blaze finished.

Ash and Charizard instantaneously nodded, turning to the leader of the Guild, Scar.

Scar was a tall man at six foot two, with short black hair, piercing green eyes, and a lean but strong figure. Most noticeable was the long, menacing scar from his chin to hairline, caused in a freak accident with a Houndoom (which is understandably why everyone questioned how he had partnered with that very Pokémon, although not the same one who did it) when he was merely a four-year old child. His bonded partner was a lethal, terrifying, absolutely enormous Kyurem, who was currently not in the room. Probably for the best; even after about eight years, that chilly dragon still scared the living daylights out of him.

The man looked up. "I'll send out a team to go check it out... Any volunteers?"

=O-oOo-=O=-oOo-O=

"Seriously?" Nina groaned, flopping on the bed. "Why us?!"

Ash sighed, sitting on his bed. His team had all come to his room to get the update. "Because Khlostra's team are out on a mission to Kanto, and both Ellie's and Aeras' teams are out on their own jobs."

Charizard dipped his head, speaking up in his deep and echoing voice.

' _Everyone else needs to be around, in case something on a higher level that we can't do, comes up, and they have to go. It's simple sense... And honestly, we should be grateful for the rather easy task. It could be worse._ '

Ash stroked the fire dragon's head. "Charizard's right. So we're better off just accepting that."

' _We leave at dawn. Be ready._ ' Charizard finished, his forked tongue slipping over his sharp, white teeth that filled his mouth.

Alex and Terak nodded, easily taking on the challenge, although the girls just seemed annoyed.

"So, off you go." Ash groaned when the two young woman didn't move. "That means leave. I'm tired and you two keep me up."

 _'I don't know whether I should laugh, or if I should be insulted.'_ Noivern said, quickly picking up his human by the back of her shirt, and putting Luna on his neck before slithering outside. The others quickly followed, leaving Ash alone with his Pokémon partners.

 **=O-oOo-=O=-oOo-O=**

 **A/N:**

 **Just something I feel I should mention is the main source of this story's inspiration- one of my other fanfictions, 'This Is War', set in the How to train your Dragon world. If you've read it, just probably have already picked up one or two similarities.**

 **Well, I do apologise for the late arrival of this chapter, but things have been tough... So, despite this, hope you, my wonderful reader, enjoyed!**

 **-Crystallion12**


	3. Chapter 2- Past Reflections, Part One

**The Guardians of Citera**

 **A Pokémon Fanfiction**

 **RATING** : T (Story contains of the following; violence, blood and gore, language, and mature themes. Viewer Discrimination advised.)

 **GENRE** : Adventure/Friendship

 **SUMMARY** : It's been eight years since Ash disappeared; his reasons unknown, events across the Pokémon world have risen, and even the Pokémon Masters can't stand against the evil armies of a mysterious man. Now, the only hope of the rests on one's shoulders- Ash. But the boy they once knew, is now long gone, and his intentions... Are far greater than simply catching them all.

 **DISCLAIMER:**

 **I do not own Pokémon. Rights go to their respective owners. I only own my OCs.**

 **=O-oOo-=O=-oOo-O=**

 **Chapter 2: Past Reflections- Part One**

'HEAD UP, YOU LOUSY, OVERGROWN LIZARD! WINGS UP OVER YOUR HEAD! _OVER!_ ' _The grey, winged beast bellowed out, curls of smoke in his nostrils. Furious at his winged, orange student, he released a brief blast of fire at the Pokémon, deliberately cutting it close to his hind quarters._

 _Charizard yelped at the action, then grumbled, doing so- he wasn't overly fond of aerial training in the first place, and adding on his least favourite Charizard in the whole city did NOT help._

 _It was almost a sin. No, it_ was _. A very nasty sin, too._

 _Fangüikr, the very unpopular, old, grumpy, Shiny Charizard about the size of a large Wailord, was now his new Mentor. Just what he wanted after he had officially deemed that, this lesson, out of all his subjects, was the worst. The elderly beast's black scales had lost their young lust and wonder, now a charred, smoky grey, and the beast's one remaining eye was a deep, blank and cold, dark cobalt blue. Its under-wings were a murderous, glaring, and quite unappealing red-brown, almost as horrible as his personality._

'If he keeps this up,' _Charizard grumbled lowly to himself, patience shortened,_ 'I will eagerly await the day when I can rip the scales right off his blasted, hideous, simply ugly snout and dump them in the fires of the UnderWörld, even more so than I do now.'

 _Fangüikr wasn't amused, possibly even picking up on his infuriated line. If he did, however, he said nothing, only narrowing his pupils further (although that was normal)._

 _For this, Charizard had the decency to be grateful._ Grateful _, towards the worst Pokémon in the whole of Sciarston. He didn't even think such a blasphemous claim was possible in all the dimensions of the vast, wondrous, grand universe, but apparently, it wa-_

'STOP DAY DREAMING!'

 _He suddenly yanked his tail to his left in a whipping motion, startled by his mentor's raspy, deep voice cutting the previously almost silent atmosphere, only shaken by the beating of Charizard's wings and their breathing._

'GET YOUR BLOODY MUZZLE OUT THE CLOUDS!' _Fangüikr roared, lips pulled back in a savage snarl, sharp teeth bared._ 'WELL? STOP STARING AT ME LIKE YOU'RE SOME BLANTANT, MINDLESS PYSDUCK! FLY, USELESS, FLY! DID YOU FORGET WHAT YOUR WINGS WERE!? _FLY_ _!_ FLY, FOR ARCEUS' SAKE!'

 _Charizard hissed, flapping his dark wings even harder and faster than before. He resisted the urge to roar in frustration._

 _He took back all and any gratefulness towards his revolting teacher._

 _The beast continued to shout and snarl at him throughout the overly tiring and straining lesson. It didn't matter how much he wailed and whined, or how he practically begged for it all to end. Even as every muscle in his body was on fire, and he was panting more air out than he was inhaling, the grey Charizard refused to dismiss him, have a bit of a lay down and rest, or let him take a much-needed break, no mind how long It was, from two to nine minutes- by Arceus' name, the demon wouldn't even do so much as let him_ land _!_

 _He sighed deeply, and his talons clenched in boiling frustration. It was going to be a long day… Wasn't it?_

=O-oOo-=O=-oOo-O=

Charizard sighed deeply, just as he had on that very day, slanting his gaze downwards at the passing mountain peaks beneath him. On his back, Ash sat, talking with Terak while surveying their surroundings; Charizard paid quite little attention to them.

He wasn't even sure why the thought had suddenly crossed his mind, although the nearby mountains certainly had that smoky, muddy colour to them. Perhaps that had brought his distressed memories. Even with the calmer, lingering presence of Ash in his mind, it didn't stabilise his mood at all. A part of him wanted to reach out and talk to the young man, but he reluctantly stayed quiet. At least _one_ of them had to remain focused on their task.

Remembering Fangüikr wasn't usually on his list for bringing up during flight, but the blue flowers weren't any more interactive or involving.

Did he regret his past attitude and actions? No… But maybe, maybe that was a lie.

The thing was, Charizard wasn't even sure himself.

 _It's probably for the best to just forget…_ He thought to himself, and it wasn't for the first time, either. But how _could_ he forget? After all that had happened?

The memories lay fresh, bold, and just as horrible as when the real thing has occurred. The sounds of screams, mingling in with the sound of boulders crashing, bones cracking, as the rumbling of rain and thunder boomed in the dark skies, still rang in his ears, after all this time. Nothing, and no one, could ever quell the horror, the shock and terror he had experienced in the matter of only a few minutes, barely enough time to even register what had happened before it was too late.

It was like every worst moment- too much, and too fast. Too little done to help, and too much damage to even hope to repair.

It was one of the moments where you couldn't take it back.

No matter what.

=O-oOo-=O=-oOo-O=

As stars glowed high above, one Cubchoo lifted its head to give a whiny squeak at its mother, riding on her back, vying for cuddles and attention. The light snow that fell on them gathered on their powdery, cold white fur, which helped them blend in with their surroundings. The female Beartic twisted her neck around to look at her cub, and with a chilly snort, nudged the Cubchoo back into place on her back. She then continued to walk with the pack, coming to walk at the flank of a larger, male Beartic ahead of her.

The large Pokémon, the Beartic mother, then turned to her kind. _'How long until we reach the_ Icy Summits _, Alpha?'_ She asked, and shook her head of icicles. _'My Young-One is growing irksome and tired.'_

That drew the attention of their leader, a massive, scarred beast, with odd, brown-red eyes instead of plain grey. His fur also was quite dull and dark, on the verge of dark grey, but he insisted it was medium, or light grey. No one dared question it. Every breath was ragged and came out in a smoky puff, instead of freezing vapour. His name was thus made to be, and accepted by all, as _DarkSmokePaws_. A mouthful, it was, but all of them had similar names, as it was tradition to be named as such. Her own name was _IceHeart_ , although it had also been _ColdVapourEye_ , and _ChillyBlue_. It had changed for her apparently comical desire to chase away every mate she had, usually only one or two moons after they had cubs. Although her heart certainly wasn't ice in _any way_ , it stuck, apparently, as it had for a few years now.

' _Not long, Mayra-IceHeart. But contain your Young-One. I am just as 'irksome' as he, for all his yapping and yammering. So, keep his tongue silent, or I will.'_

She huffed at their Alpha's response, but stayed quiet, and thankfully, so did her Young-One (her cub had no name yet, since it was still in his third moon; he still had one more turn).

They continued their trek through the night, most of the Mayras (an honorific term for a mother) staying together at the back and quietly talking. IceHeart decided to stay with her league, her Young-One now fast asleep. _'Ugh, by Arceus' name, finally.'_ She muttered, upon realising that. To her near left, another female Mayra, _PowderSnowClaw_ , laughed softly. Her Young-Two (meaning she had two unnamed cubs) rested peacefully on her back.

' _It would seem so. But you never really know, with that little dude. Say, what do you think will happen, once we reach the Summit?'_ PowderSnowClaw said, while she itched a spot on her neck, relying on the other Beartics to alert her of sudden danger, if it came to that. She was met with grunts and shrugs to her query.

' _Well, none of us can be certain.' IceColdPaw_ spoke up, her scrawny Young-One curled up in her neck-fur, also sound asleep. IceColdPaw received a lot of harsh dealings, and frowns- she was, by far, the youngest Mayra (and some said she didn't even deserve the title) the pack, and perhaps even their whole race, had ever had. Although, quite honestly, IceHeart liked the young mother. She was kind and honest, unlike most Beartics she had come to know, especially some of the females. ' _But, hopefully, the Articuno will be there, and they'll soon be back in the air to help us all_.'

' _Let's_ hope _-'_

And speaking of those 'most Beartics', one Mayra started to speak, the snobby, arrogant _CruelClaw_ being the famously _awful_ Pokémon of their pack. It wasn't a mystery that DarkSmokePaws wanted nothing more than to be rid of her, but for whatever reason, she was still alive and, as usual, horrible.

However, IceColdPaw was also quite terrible at picking up sarcasm, and knowing who was a bitch, and who wasn't. _'Yes,'_ She said brightly, _'Yes. Let's hope.'_

CruelClaw glared, spitting on the snow beneath her paws, directed right at the young Mayra. _'I was being sarcastic, useless. When are you going to get that stuck in your tiny little noggin? Pathetic.'_

There was an impatient, restraining-all-my-anger growl from the head of the pack. DarkSmokePaws spoke up lowly, his fury barely contained, which showed in his tone, holding back by using a 'sweet' voice that came right out of frustrated hysteria. _'Ladies, if we could please hold back our arguments until we get back to the Caves? Before I lose my shit and rip your throats out?'_

They promptly went silent- as did all of them, for the rest of the journey.

Only the occasional shift of a cub, or the grunt of a Beartic accidentally bumping into someone, or something, would transverse between them. There was no need for anything less, or more. Indeed, there was very small talk, usually between their Alpha, and the outer ring of Pokémon, the _LookOuts_ , who kept them all updated on their surroundings and time, and, the weather, sometimes.

And, this only broke when their destination finally came before them. But, instead of sighs of relief, or happy barks, there was only stunned silence, and the horrible, sinking feeling of panicked dread sinking into their hearts.

Before their eyes, stood a massive, black, jewelled Articuno with menacing, piercing red eyes the colour of blood, that spoke only one thing-

 _Prepare to die._

 **=O-oOo-=O=-oOo-O=**

 **A/N:**

 **I honestly really, really need to apologise for the awful wait and suspense… Both of them. One, how long it took for me to update, and two?**

' **Dat cliff-hanger, of course.**

 **Thanks for reading! Love ya all! Don't kill me, please. Just being an author.**

 **And please tell me that isn't a pitchfork I just saw.**

 **-Crystallion12**


End file.
